Reckless-A Sequel of the Sonata
by glorychildren
Summary: It's been a few months since Austin had to leave Ally, but now we see that life has been painful. He now tries to make a new life for himself, but the Initiate is still on his tail, hunting him down to take revenge for his betrayal to the clan. Ally remains to pine for him but is also plagued by suitors. Can the two ever meet again? Or will they remain separated forever?
1. The Last 3 Months

It's been 3 months since the escape. Three months since the last time I saw Ally.

Let me tell you, even though I'm a free man it hasn't been an easy three months. After I jumped off the carriage I tucked and rolled, hitting the ground only a little harder than anticipated. I ducked quickly into the cover of the woods and ran in the opposite direction as fast as I could. I would've stayed to make sure Hart stayed unconscious for the trip but I knew that if I even waited a bit, I would stay. Imagine Hart's face if I actually had stayed, he'd be so happy to be the one to swing the axe in my public execution.

I drew close to Dhalawa when the sun just began to set. But I didn't go in. I turned left and ran even more. I didn't stop until I was dead tired, I dropped down on a patch of moss and slept till the sun was bright in my eyes.

After that, it was all down hill.

I won't lie. I went back to my old ways, did some bad things. I wasn't a changed man, there was no rehabilitation that I relapsed on. I found the nearest town and went to the grimiest pub. Soon enough an offer was made. I collected "rent" from a man that gambled with the wrong people. I sought vengeance for a girl's murdered sister on a group of rowdy, drunk young men. I stole my food and took shelter where I wanted it. If there was any problem I didn't hesitate to beat it out of them. I maimed and killed without a second thought. I didn't care what happened to me, what's the worst this small town could do? But then a month later I was visited by some old friends.

I was relaxing in a pub, drinking a a stein of whiskey, after taking care of a rather difficult hire. My employer didn't want to pay me for a "simple hit" because I apparently didn't dispose of the body right. So I went back with my machete, and left with a head.

I leaned against the bar counter, smiling, I asked the pretty bar wench, "Can you fill me up again?"

She smiled back, "Anything for you."

She really was pretty, I wasn't even trying to dial it down. She was petite, she had soft curves and soft brown hair that was tied up in a loose bun. She often wore a beige cotton dress but on this particular day she was wearing a yellow one. She looked so much a girl that I used to know.

She took the stein and turned away to fill me up, someone tapped me on the shoulder and I looked over. "Can I help you?"

A short stocky man with a dark brown cloak stood to my left, he lowered the hood and sat beside me, "I'm passing through in town. I saw your face and recognized it, have we met before?"

I shook my head, "I'm afraid not." Just because I was a criminal didn't mean I lost all my manners.

"I'm absolutely sure I've seen you before." The man scratched his head. "Oh!" He snapped his fingers like eureka. "I know where I've seen you before, here." He pulled out and unfolded a WANTED paper. He pointed to the picture of Austin's face. Underneath the picture was a sentence, "Reward: 20,000 silver pieces. Preferred alive. Courtesy of the Boss."

Before I could even suck my teeth I felt the tip of a metal piece dig into my lower back.

"Don't draw any attention, or you'll be drawing your last breath." A voice warned right by my ear.

I rolled my eyes. "How long did it take for you to think that up?"

"Quiet. We don't want no trouble outta you." The one in front of me said.

"You won't get any if you walk away right now." I replied.

"Too ba-" The man said, but I cut him off with a kick to the stomach. His friend threw a punch at the side of my head but I leaned back, dodging it. I grabbed his hand and bent it in a direction I shouldn't have. There was a loud crack and the thug screamed. The guy behind me holding the piece apparently wasn't as dumb as his friends. I spun around to face him but he had gone around the counter and now held the bar wench but the hair with a knife to her throat.

"I'll kill her!" He shouted. "Everyone out!"

Everyone in the pub exited as quickly as possible, all except for the bar owner, an old man with a limp. "Let go of the girl, take your fight elsewhere." He barked. But the his pleas were ignored. The girl who looked so much like Ally silently cried in fear. She looked right into my eyes, pleading me to help her.

"All I need is for you to come with me quietly, and I'll let her go." The mercenary said calmly, like he had done this a million times before. I've been in this situation too, but often on the other side. This was uncharted territory, and that was the scary part.

"I'm not coming with you." I replied.

The old man turned on me, "You foolish boy! You would let this girl die for you? For your worthless excuse for existing just because you're afraid of the judgement of the next life? You coward!" He advanced towards me, now brandishing a rather long fillet knife.

I jumped once out of the way. Twice. He chased me around a table, throwing chairs out of his way.

"Papa, no!" The girl cried. The mercenary jerked her sharply to quiet her. I could see him watching me, becoming amused with the situation.

Suddenly, I decided what to do. It was ridiculously dangerous, but I couldn't keep playing cat and mouse until something worse happened. I leaped forward and wrangled the knife out of the man's grasp. I had to knock him down and he crashed into the table before hitting the floor. I guess I would've felt bad if this had occurred a few months ago, but now nothing mattered. What's an old man's life to me?

Once I had the knife I turned to the where the mercenary and the girl were in a flash and threw the knife at his head. But he wasn't there. He was at the doorway now. The girl stood at the counter learning over on the counter.

"Remember this for the next time I come for you." The mercenary warned. He grinned, tipped his head, and disappeared out the door.

_Ally!_ I forgot who was really dying for a moment. I ran to the girl and lifted her off the counter. By the looks of it, he had stabbed her in the stomach and pulled upwards. She collapsed in my arms and sank to the floor in my arms. "Ally? Ally!" I sobbed.

She had barely enough breath to speak but she mustered enough to ask, "This Ally must be really special, huh?"

I nodded and remembered that this girl wasn't her. She wasn't my Ally, but holding her like this as she lay dying it felt all too real. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

She shook and shivered violently and coughed up blood. "If you're really sorry, you'll help my father get over me. He'll be all alone. Take.. care of.. him." She coughed once more and fell still.

I stayed there, holding her for so long. I don't know how much time passed until the old man stirred and rushed over to see what happened. Numbly, I moved out of the way to let him grieve over his daughter's body.

"No! NO!" He sobbed. He cradled her head between his hands and begged her to wake up.

* * *

**So sorry it took so long to begin the sequel to this series. Life still goes on outside of the amazing stories on this site, right? Just a little update, I'm no longer continuing the hidden song lyrics in this story. And chapter updates will not always be on schedule. I'll try my hardest to be consistent but no promises.**

**Thanks! **


	2. Ally's Last 3 Months

Julian sat in the throne room, reading a letter that had just been delivered to him from a neighboring kingdom. It had been 3 months since Ally had returned home from the botched attempt to marry the Prince of Damask and rescue their kingdom from collapse. The stories she told him from the journey helped in maintaining the people's morale since her return. He may have tweaked the story _a little bit_ for his own purposes. Ally had told him that Austin was actually her guide and they were continually chased through the journey by Captain Hart and the Initiate, she wasn't accepted by the Prince and sent on her way home with Hart and Austin. On the way, Austin overpowered Hart and escaped. HIS version of the story (the one he told to the citizens) was this:

The mass murderer Sonata had escaped the Castle dungeons and managed to persuade Captain Hart to join his mission to kidnap Princess Ally and use her as ransom. Luckily, as they were about to execute their plan the soldiers of Damask had come to her rescue. The end. Of course, he had to fire Hart. He knew too much about Sonata and his relationship to Julian.

But as Julian read the letter once, twice, three times through he began to gain hope again to preserve his kingdom. "Guard!" He called.

A guard approached and knelt at the dais, "Yes m'lord?"

"Fetch Princess Ally right away. Bring her to the dining room." He commanded.

"Yes m'lord." The guard turned and walked briskly out of the throne room.

Julian smiled, "Another suitor. Hopefully this one will be the one." Grinning, he walked off to the dining room to meet his baby sister.

* * *

"Ally! It's been three months! You've got to stop moping around." Trish scolded me. "And you barely talk about it, so how am I supposed to sympathize and tease you?"

I rolled over on my ridiculously large lavender bed to face my best friend, "I haven't been moping the whole time. Remember for the first month you said I had my head in the clouds? Then last month you said I was too excited. Now I'm moping around? I can't do anything right!" I moaned.

Trish rolled her eyes.

I sat up. "Fine, you want all the details?"

She rushed to the bed eagerly, "Every single one!"

"Fine." I conceded. Then I told her everything. The whole story. Everything from finding him outside my carriage outside the kingdom's borders to saying goodbye. Like the best friend Trish is, she gasped and Ooh'ed and Aah'ed at all the right places.

"He KISSED you?" She nearly fell off the bed.

I nodded, I could feel heat rising to my cheeks.

"Did you tell your brother that?" She asked.

"Of course not! He would be furious." I sighed. "I thought he would come back for me. He said it wouldn't be goodbye, he didn't even want me to say it out loud. And I haven't heard a word from him. Not even any news that he'd been sighted in the last three months."

"That's why you've been so ...?" Trish asked.

I nodded.

"And the fencing lessons? The archery lessons too?"

I nodded again, "Being with him... It was so fast-paced and dangerous every moment, I want to be able to defend myself and not be a burden. I'm not just some girl that needs to be rescued!" I exclaimed suddenly.

Trish nodded encouragingly, but I had the feeling she didn't quite understand what I meant. I continued, nonetheless. "But then there were moments when everything just stopped. And it was just him and I, alone in the woods. Alone in Malachi's house. Alone in the carriage. Just a moment, one peculiar passing moment where nothing else mattered..." I trailed off.

She continued to nod, but still didn't understand.

I flopped on my back and stared at the ceiling. "I would go off on my own to look for him but my idiot brother insists on keeping me under his constant watch! What am I supposed to do? Austin still hasn't sent any sign that he's still alive!" I turned back to Trish, "What do you think?"

Trish sighed dramatically, "It's all sooo romantic! Especially how he can't come back, with him being a criminal and having all those charges against him as Sonata and such."

"That doesn't help much."

"Really, that's the truth. Maybe he just can't reach you because its too dangerous for him." Trish reasoned, "Even still. It's probably for the best if you.. let him go." I started to protest but she held up her hand, "Let me finish. Now, you didn't hear this from me: I heard that your brother's been searching again for suitors. You can't freak them all out like you did in Damask. Maybe it's for the better that you let go of him so it's not so hard when your inevitable marriage happens." She shrugged sympathetically.

I sat up and thought about what she said. I sighed, "Since when did you become the logical one?"

Trish laughed, "Since you became boy-crazed. Or should I say you're in love with a criminal?" We both laughed at that.

"But the more important question here is: What the hell is my brother thinking?" I exclaimed. Then someone knocked on the door. "Come in." I called.

A guard entered and bowed, "Your majesty, Prince Julian requests your presence in the Royal Dining room."

Trish and I looked to each other, "I think you're about to find out." She said.

I turned to the guard, "Tell him I'll be down shortly."

He bowed, "Yes m'lady." He turned and left.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! What do I do?" I panicked. "What if it's true Trish? What if there's a suitor down there _right now_? What am I going to tell him?"

Trish took my hands in hers, "You have two choices: Either you tell him the truth, that you're in love with a mercenary, OR you can suck it up, grin and bear it, and maybe let yourself begin to fall in love with someone else. I'm sorry they both suck right now, but that's what you've got." Trish said.

"I don't want to abandon Austin." I whispered.

"Maybe you can find another way to get around this." She said hopefully, "You should go see what your brother wants first."

"Yeah.." I bit my lip. "Yes. Thanks Trish." I straightened my posture and smoothed my dress. "I'll see you on the other side."

She did the two-finger salute, "You know where I'll be."


	3. The Funeral

Austin dodged the flying glass bottle the old man threw at him from behind the counter. It shattered in the wall right beside his head. He didn't wince even though a few shards shallowly sliced his ear and cheek. "I didn't mean for her to die." He apologized.

"Well, she is." He barked tearfully. He looked up from his girl's face, "What are you still doing here? Get out!" He attempted to grab another bottle but Austin marched over and stopped his hand. "Let go of me!"

He knelt down to the old man, "What was her name?"

"Evangeline." He sighed.

"Well, Evangeline.. before she died she told me to help you get back on your feet. To help you get over her." Austin said, the words sounded forced, even to him.

"You can help me grieve by leaving." He replied harshly.

"I don't think Evangeline should stay here." Austin murmured. The old man nodded, wiping his eyes. "I'll help you bury her."

Austin picked up her lifeless body and carried here out the door, held open by her father. She was very light to carry. They walked down a dirt back road that wound around seemingly aimlessly. Finally the old man stopped. Austin looked up, they were behind a small house that apparently belonged to him and standing in front of a small, very old graveyard. "Is there no one else you want to be here?" Austin asked.

The old man didn't say anything, he just turned and left. Austin paused, watching the grief-stricken father walk away. As far as funerals went, Austin had no idea what to do, he'd never been to one before. He laid her body down on the small ramshackle porch and covered her face with his jacket. He felt bad that she was still soaked in her own blood, which was starting to cool and crust. But there wasn't anything he could do at the moment.

He grabbed the shovel leaning against the side of the rickety house and began digging beside a young birch tree. His mind fell blank and was calmed with the rigorous, repetitive motion.

After a long time, Austin looked up and saw a crowd of people coming towards the private cemetery. The hole was about 6 feet deep now and ready to be filled. He moved aside to let the Reverend there step up and speak.

"We are gathered her today to mourn the loss of a very dear friend of ours..." The Reverend began. Austin, in his remorseful state of mind, blocked it all out. He couldn't listen to the sermon without feeling guilty, or look at her Father and friends without feeling like they were accusing him.

_This feeling is a quite new to me_, He noticed. _Remorse, guilt. Why am I feeling this now, over this one girl, and not any of the other times I've killed or seen killed?_ He wondered. _Ally, probably._

Traveling with Ally changed him, severely. He used to be a cold, calculative, and extremely charming mercenary. A top class killer-for-hire. _But now I can't go back to the way I was before. Because of her._ There was a bitterness in his heart for her. He blamed her for the last three months of loneliness and mindless killing. _This is torture._ All of a sudden all of the guilt from the last three months came crashing down on Austin. All the jobs he took for no reason, the maimage and injury caused. Everything. He almost couldn't stand. The bitterness rose up in a brief angry flare, but then receded. _I can't forget or regret my time with her. I wouldn't trade that for the world._

He snapped back to reality and saw the they were ready to bury Evangeline. Austin jumped down into the open grave to lower her body, handed to him by another young boy. He looked like he was about 15, maybe her brother based on his facial features, Austin speculated. Gently, he lowered her limp body onto the grave bottom. Someone had removed his jacket from her and wrapped her in a soft crocheted blanket, they also braided daisies in her auburn hair. He stroked a stray lock of hair off her face, he paused. The strangest sensation came over him. After a moment he lifted himself out of the grave, and the ceremony began to wrap up.

A sickening feeling began to rise from his stomach to his throat as he watched everybody take a handful of dirt and toss it onto her body. He blinked once and he saw Ally's face. They were burying her alive! He nearly screamed for them to stop, but he blinked again and Ally was gone. Everybody began to file out, one by one, after giving condolences to her father. Most were in tears already. But there were a few girls who could barely hold themselves up, their sobs racked their entire bodies. They had to be helped out by some of the older attendees.

"What are you still doing here, boy?"

Austin turned and saw that it was Evangeline's father that had spoken. "I'm not going anywhere else."

"Well, you're not staying here." He grumbled.

"Evangeline-"

"You told me what Evangeline said!" The old man yelled. "And I told you, you'll help me best by leaving. Do you think it's going to be easy for me, seeing the face of the man who let my daughter die everyday? If you want to do any good, any good at all, then do this: make something of yourself. I don't know what it is that you've gotten yourself into, but you can't go on like that. Others will get hurt, more will die, and that will be worse than getting killed yourself, because you'll carry their souls on your back until the day you drop."

To Austin's own dismay, he knew the old man was right. "I'll go then."

So Austin turned and left. He walked onto the main street, kept walking, and he didn't look back.


End file.
